MALLARD THREAD...not rouens, Mallards!

[RellaBean2]

Don't go by the 'sheen' as a male indicator... I've seen many that shined green like that but are female... the head fuzz actually needs to molt out green to indicate male...

Thank you so much! I couldn't find a single thing on females with the green sheen. It was driving me crazy!

 

[Spyderk117]

Is it normal for Mallard drake's bill color to be olive green?

 

[buff goose guy]

Yes

 

[Spyderk117]

Yes

Okay thank you! Will the bill turn yellow or will it stay olive green?

 

[buff goose guy]

It might turn yellow or it might stay.

I've heard that it has something to do with the type of food they eat, that it's due to genetics, and that it has to do with maturity. Either of those could be correct. But it will still look beautiful when it gets that green head.

 

[buff goose guy]

.

 

[Spyderk117]

.

Okay. Yeah I can't wait !

 

[NathanZee]

Hi, everyone! I currently have 3 mallards: 2 females and a drake. I wanted mallards mainly because I wanted to see them FLY. I really enjoy the whole wings and flight aspect of birds. To me, it looks beautiful. We do have some chickens that have really impressed me as well...like our bantam rosecombs. They have huge wings and literally just float to the ground when they jump down from somewhere or when you're holding them.
But, back to the mallards...I mean, this is a mallard thread, right?

Well, for a few reasons, we did clip their wings in the beginning (something I regret now). But, one of our female mallards has molted and grown her feathers again. Now she is really good at flying...she's great actually. She goes literally anywhere she wants, circles high above the barn, makes laps around the yard and lands quite well. She's getting very good and makes it look so easy. I love watching her fly around and come back again...
One crazy story...my daughter and I used to play with our mallard drake, tossing him into the air and watching him "fly"...and sometimes landed quite well...but not always. I thought he just needed more practice. However, here's the problem...one day I had a thought and decided to check. I discovered that his feathers had NOT molted, yet!

I just thought that if our girl could fly now, then the others must be the same. Oops. But, lesson learned. And, thankfully, our boy never got hurt. I am excited, though, for the day his feathers grow out again, so I can watch him fly, too!

Welcome to the Mallard thread! It's no problem since you are new, but its kind of a unwritten law that you cannot talk about your mallards without posting a picture of them.

I love watching my mallards fly too! Once you have two of them flying they will probably fly higher and longer.

Haha, I hope he molts soon!

Here is an update on the coop. My Dad and I got the shingles on the roof and the cleaning/ access door!

That looks like a sturdy well designed coop! Can't wait to see it finished!

 

[NathanZee]

Hi, everyone! I currently have 3 mallards: 2 females and a drake. I wanted mallards mainly because I wanted to see them FLY. I really enjoy the whole wings and flight aspect of birds. To me, it looks beautiful. We do have some chickens that have really impressed me as well...like our bantam rosecombs. They have huge wings and literally just float to the ground when they jump down from somewhere or when you're holding them.
But, back to the mallards...I mean, this is a mallard thread, right?

Well, for a few reasons, we did clip their wings in the beginning (something I regret now). But, one of our female mallards has molted and grown her feathers again. Now she is really good at flying...she's great actually. She goes literally anywhere she wants, circles high above the barn, makes laps around the yard and lands quite well. She's getting very good and makes it look so easy. I love watching her fly around and come back again...
One crazy story...my daughter and I used to play with our mallard drake, tossing him into the air and watching him "fly"...and sometimes landed quite well...but not always. I thought he just needed more practice. However, here's the problem...one day I had a thought and decided to check. I discovered that his feathers had NOT molted, yet!

I just thought that if our girl could fly now, then the others must be the same. Oops. But, lesson learned. And, thankfully, our boy never got hurt. I am excited, though, for the day his feathers grow out again, so I can watch him fly, too!

Here is an update on the coop. My Dad and I got the shingles on the roof and the cleaning/ access door!

Is it normal for Mallard drake's bill color to be olive green?

One of my drakes has olive green, the other is yellow. My drakes were a little older than yours when these were taken, so you can see they already had their set bill colors. But your drake could possibly still change to yellow. Either color looks great!

 

[Spyderk117]

One of my drakes has olive green, the other is yellow. My drakes were a little older than yours when these were taken, so you can see they already had their set bill colors. But your drake could possibly still change to yellow. Either color looks great!

Okay!